USA - Major media are rushing to do damage control on Hillary’s health. They’re trying to lay down the concrete of a fake consensus that she’s fine, because her doctor issued a positive report in 2015. But one of the bottom lines is: she’s suffered from dangerous blood clots. And the treatment is blood-thinners, which are given to reduce the possibility of a fatal clot.

RUSSIA - The Russian leader is reportedly mounting an enormous military mission to take control of the ISIS terror group’s stronghold of Raqqa. The city is the self-declared capital of ISIS in Syria and is patrolled by as many as 5,000 jihadi members. Putin is set to mobilise 150,000 reservists who he conscripted into the military in September. Following the Paris attacks, Putin hinted he was ready to join forces with the West to tackle Islamic State. He told David Cameron: “The recent tragic events in France show that we should join efforts in preventing terror. I swear if they bomb Russia, in half an hour every Muslim will die” he said.

USA - But hey, who cares? I mean I’ll be dead by the time Social Security implodes. I paid into it. I want my money. That most people take out far more in Social Security than they put in in a lifetime means nothing to me. I was promised Social Security and I am going to get my check. The grand kids can figure it out.

UK - When Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist, requested to see his personal data that Facebook stored on its servers, he was mailed a CD-ROM containing a 1,222-page document.

USA - Thirteen percent of US adults tell Gallup they currently smoke marijuana, nearly double the percentage who reported smoking marijuana only three years ago. Although use of the drug is still prohibited by federal law, the number of states that have legalized recreational marijuana use has grown from two in 2013, Colorado and Washington, to four today - with the addition of Alaska and Oregon - plus the District of Columbia. Five states will vote on whether to legalize marijuana this November.

USA - Millions of Americans may be drinking water with unsafe levels of industrial chemicals, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters. These chemicals, known as polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances or PFASs, have been linked to high cholesterol, obesity, hormone suppression - and even cancer. Introduced more than 60 years ago, PFASs are a category of man-made chemicals that degrade very slowly, if at all, in the environment.

TURKEY - The Constitutional Court has ruled to annul a provision that punishes all sexual acts against children under the age of 15 as “sexual abuse,” stirring outrage from academics and women’s rights activists who warn that the decision will lead to cases of child abuse going unpunished. The Constitutional Court discussed the issue upon an application from a district court, which complained that the current law does not discriminate between age groups in cases of child sexual abuse and treats a 14-year-old as equal to a four-year-old. With seven votes against six, the Constitutional Court agreed with the local court and decided to annul the provision. The decision will come into effect on January 13, 2017.

ITALY - Polygamy must become a civil right in Italy similar to same-sex civil unions, which the country allowed earlier this year, a prominent Muslim representative has said. “There’s no reason for Italy not to accept polygamous marriages of consenting persons,” Hamza Piccardo, founder of the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations (UCOII), wrote in a controversial Facebook post last week. “When it comes to civil rights here, then polygamy is a civil right. Muslims don’t agree with homosexual partnerships and still they have to accept a system that allows it,” he stressed. Piccardo’s statements caused uproar in Italy, a mainly Catholic country which still remains divided on the issue of civil unions.

ITALY - A furious Italian MEP has branded the European Union (EU) a failed "oligarchy" and blamed its undemocratic nature for driving Britain out of the exit door. In a scathing outburst Barbara Spinelli said Europe is facing the terrifying prospect of a rerun of the 1930s and the rise of fascism because of the intransigence of Jean-Claude Juncker's EU Commission.

UK - Nigel Farage has warned there will be a major break up of the EU – predicting Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden are all heading for their own referendums following Brexit. The Ukip leader, who announced his resignation as party leader earlier this month, claimed other countries' attitudes are "very, very similar" to the UK’s about being ruled by Brussels. Speaking at the Republican National Convention in Ohio, Mr Farage said a "European Democrat" movement was forming because people are sick of "surrendering" their democratic rights to the EU. But right across the European continent there are countries whose attitudes towards being governed by Brussels are very, very similar to the British.

"I do think that we are going to see more referendums.”

GERMANY - A string of tragedies in Germany and France has raised identity questions in Europe. An axe attack on a German train, a massacre in Munich, a suicide bombing in a pretty German market town and the murder of an elderly priest at mass in a village in Normandy – all coming after a series of mass-casualty atrocities in Nice, Paris, and Brussels.

JAPAN - Japan ordered its military on Monday to be ready at any time to shoot down any North Korean missiles that threaten to strike Japan, putting its forces on a state of alert for at least three months, a defense ministry official and media said. Up to now, Japan has issued temporary orders when it had indications of an imminent North Korean missile launch that it has canceled after a projectile had been launched. However, because some test firings are hard to detect, it has decided to put its military on standby for a longer period. The order will be reviewed after three months, state broadcaster NHK said.

MACEDONIA - The Macedonian capital of Skopje has been hit by torrential rain and floods that left at least 17 people dead, six missing and sent 60 others to the hospital, authorities said Sunday as police and army helicopters searched for the missing and evacuated hundreds from the flood zone. Heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms hit the city and its northern suburbs late Saturday. Special police, army units and firefighters were sent to the worst-hit areas as well as the nearby villages of Stajkovci, Aracinovo and Smiljkovci. Hundreds of homes and vehicles were destroyed by the floods, roads are still impassable and several areas are without electricity. Authorities said more than 1,000 people had been evacuated so far. Skopje mayor Koce Trajanovski described the damage as "the worst Skopje has ever seen."

AFRICA - In a move some believe has prophetic significance, hundreds of African kings, many of them with Jewish roots, are heading to Israel this October to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. The effort is led by King Ayi of Togo, with an eye toward rediscovering the Jewish roots of many tribal people who believe they are part of the diaspora. They will observe the feast at the Western Wall, believed to be the only remaining retaining wall of the Second Temple Mount. The kings plan to sing out their love for Israel and strengthen their faith that the Messiah is coming soon.

PAKISTAN - Casualties from a terrorist attack in Baluchistan, Pakistan, have risen to at least 70, with some media reporting as many as 93 casualties and over 120 wounded, citing health officials. It comes after an explosion rang out at the entrance of a hospital's emergency ward, apparently targeting lawyers. The Khorasan province branch of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group and other militants have been known to routinely target government and security forces in the province.